Who’s doing your Social Media?
Yesterday I attended an HSMAI South East Asia event. It was a breakfast session entitled: Social Media – A Distribution Channel?Hosting was Andrew Chan, President HSMAI SEA Chapter. Mario Jobbe of Brand Karma delivered the Keynote. On the panel along with Mario were: Anil Damodaran from [...]
Funds raised for Phare going towards scholarships and a permanent home for artists
It was good to learn that the Phare Cambodia Circus for which we raised fund last year was performing at the PATA Travel Mart in Phnom Penh recently.Director Dara Huot told us that the estimated S$100,000 raised during last year’s WIT Charity Auction, co-hosted with Dorsett Hospitality Internation [...]
The difference between Phuket and Bali
Bali or Phuket? Phuket or Bali? That is often the question for European travelers when they are in search of beach destinations on their first trip to South-East Asia. It has been a long 12 years since I was last in Phuket. And somehow I don't have many memories from that trip. I have a vague rec [...]
The story of The Tender Bar at Hotel Pont Royal
I suppose it’s fitting that I happened to be reading the book “The Tender Bar” by JR Moehringer while I was staying at the Hotel Pont Royal in Paris.The book, an autobiography, is about a boy who spends most of his childhood in a bar, surrounded by the most colourful characters from whom he [...]
Shark-el-Sheikh?
Flying from Cairo to Sharm el Sheikh, over the Sinai peninsula which geographically is the beginning of Asia, you see below the harsh, inhospitable landscape. Rugged mountainous terrain, valleys filled with rivers of sand, a landscape so untouched and unapproachable that you wonder how this peninsul [...]
Sing It Loud and even geeks can cry
With this post, I’d like to thank kd lang for unlocking something in me. I caught her live at the Esplanade in Singapore the day she turned 50. I liked the way she declared it in front of 1,800 “fellow freaks” as she called us.The day I declared turning 50, I did in in front of only 20 close f [...]
Small things and the best email one Company President ever wrote
I met a good friend yesterday. It had been a while since we’d met and he informed me of a new exciting venture he was entering into with some other good folks. It’s an online project centered around the facilitating of environmentally focused activities of its members.We got to talking about the [...]
Making the TV sexy again in hotel rooms
I don’t know about you but I find that just as I am watching less television at home, I too am watching less TV in hotel rooms.With so much screen time being spent in front of so many other devices, the old goggle box has become rather neglected. You can catch up on the news anytime, anywhere on [...]
Monopoly, disruption and game changers at the centre of the universe
I landed in Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou past midnight this morning and felt like I arrived in the middle of an industry cocktail party.At immigration, I met a group of travel agents from Singapore on a Singapore Airlines fam tour. Airline objective: To promote their new late flight to th [...]
Move over, you old thing – make way for the new
Either I am losing it or I am travelling too much. The night before my flight to Shanghai, I thought I should check on my flight time. Turned out I had booked the 01.15 flight thinking it was 1.15pm.Panic ensued. This meant I had roughly five hours to get ready instead of 17 hours. What did I do? I [...]
